TOKYO: Japanese economic security minister TAKAICHI Sanae will announce on Sept. 9 her candidacy in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s upcoming presidential election, her office said Thursday.

The Sept. 27 vote will be Takaichi’s second shot at securing the party’s top post. In the previous LDP leadership race in 2021, which was won by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Takaichi, a 63-year-old vocal conservative, put up a good fight on the back of support from conservative lawmakers.

However, the decision of former economic security minister Takayuki Kobayashi, 49, one of Takaichi’s backers in the 2021 election, to run in the race to pick a successor to Kishida, who has said he will not seek re-election as party chief, presents a hurdle for her.

Kobayashi’s candidacy made it temporarily difficult for Takaichi to round up the 20 nominations needed to run in the LDP leadership election. Takaichi will need to get conservatives behind her to win the potentially crowded race.

There is a strong demand in the party for female candidacy. Among other women lawmakers, Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa, 71, and former internal affairs minister Seiko Noda, 63, have indicated they will stand in the election.

Takaichi has been elected to the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of Japan’s parliament, nine times. She has held prominent positions such as policy leader of the LDP and internal affairs minister.

Takaichi initially planned to make her announcement this week, but she changed that plan due to the approach of Typhoon Shanshan.

JIJI Press